Cement roof



(No Modei.)

A. N. DUDELFFS.

CEMENT ROOF. N0: 821 800. Patented July '7, 1885.

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- Ill/l Ol/l/l/I/IIIIIIIIIII p NITE STATES FFfQE.

ArnNr CEMENT ROOF.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 321,800, dated July 7, 1885.

(No model.)

To all whom it may concern:

- Be it known that I, ARNOLD NIOOLAUS DE'ILEFF DELFFS, a citizen of the United States, residing at Bedford, in the county of Bedford and State of Tennessee, have invented certain newand useful Improvements in Roofs; and I do hereby declare the following to be a full, clear, and exact description of the invention, such as will'enable others skilled in the art to which it appertains to make and use the same, reference being had to the accompanylength of the ridge-pole.

ing drawings, and to letters or figures of reference marked thereon, which form a part of this specification.

The present invention relates to the construction of roofs covered with cement or other plastic material. Heretofore one great objection to cement roofs has been their liability to crack, owing to the shrinking and swelling of the house and roof-frames and the roof-sheathing, and also, sometimes, in the case of frame structures to the swaying and vibrations of the house-frame.

The object of my invention is to provide a cement roof which shall not be subject to these defects; and it consists, essentially, in} constructing the roof with a frame independent of the house-frame, but resting upon it, so that the expansions or contractions of the houseframe will not affect the cement covering.

It also consists of certain details of construction, as hereinafter described and claimed.

Figure 1 is a perspective view of a houseroof which embodies my'invention. Fig. 2 is a vertical transverse section of the same. Fig. 3 is an enlarged detail section through the edge of the roof, and Fig. 4 is a section showing a different form of guard-strip for the edge.

The frame of a pitch roof of ordinary construction is shown by the rafters and ridgepole A and B. Above the main roof-rafters A, and resting upon them, there is a set of secondary and smaller rafters, O, which preferably project at the eaves beyond the wall of the house. The upper ends of the rafters O are all connected. by a rod, D, which runs the Each rafter has a hole bored through it near its end, through. whichthe rod D passes, and they inay be mortised out on the under side to fitover the ridgepole. The sheathing E is nailed to the secondary set of rafters, that on one side of the roof being extended up above the other to form a protecting ridge, as shown. Guard-strips of sheet metal, F, are now attached to all the ex posed edges of the roof, as shown by Figs. 3 and 4. These are longitudinal strips which cover the edge of the boarding and extend above it a distance equal to the thickness of the cement covering. In the form shown by Fig. 3 the strip is attached by nailing it through the center to the edge of the board sheathing, and the lower edge,f, of the strip bends in under the bottom edge of the boarding, while the top extension, f, curves inward above the boarding and forms a rounded protecting edge for the cement coating. In the form illustrated by Fig. 4 the flange f is nailed to the top of the sheathing, and is afterward covered by the cement, the curved extension f covering the edge of the boarding, and the extension f the edge of the cement, as before. The cement covering]? is next applied as follows: First, a thin coat of mud for instance, clay, water, and lime; second, a layer, 1), of cement and sand, and, if desired, some small gravel added; third, after this has thoroughly dried it receives a coat, 1), of boiling asphaltum mixed in the proper proportions with fine clay, sand, brick-dust, or volcanic earth. The cement covering is designed to be just the thickness of the strips F above the sheathing, but it must not project above said strips. If any crack occurs in the asphaltu m, it can be repaired by melting its edges with a hot blade and pouring in melted asphaltum.

The object of the first coat, of thin mud, is to prevent the cement covering from adheringto the sheathing, for the former wants to be free from the latter, so that it will not be affected by any shrinkage and swelling of the boards. It will thus beseen that the roof-covering is in the form of two immense leaves, M and N, hinged at the top and resting loose on the main or primary rafters. Fastenings or bolts may be provided to prevent it from being lifted in a gale of wind, but they must not constitute a rigid attachment.

If the house should settle unequally, or from any cause one corner should become lower than another, which would cause the roof to sag and crack the cement, it can be straightened by driving thin wedges G between the lower ends of primary and secondary rafters.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim as new, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, iS-

1. I11 combination with the rafters A of a house, a roof formed of two sections, M and N, hinged at the top and resting loose on said rafters, substantially as and for the purpose set forth.

2. In combination with the rafters A of a house, a roof formed of a secondary set of rafters, sheathing. and a cement covering resting upon the rafters A, but detached from them, substantially as and for the purpose set forth.

3. The guardstrips F, having flangesf and f, in combination with the sheathing E and cement covering 1, substantially as described, and for the purpose set forth.

4. In a roof, the combination oftheshcathing E, provided with guard-strips F, having flanges f and f a thin coating of non-cementing and non-adhesive material, and a layer of cement and sand, substantially as described, and for the purpose set forth.

5. In a roof, the combination of the sheathing E, )rovided with guard-strips F, having flangesf andf, a thin coating of non-cementing and non-adhesive material, a layer of cement and sand, and a coat of asphaltum and sand, substantially as described, and for the purpose set forth.

6. The combination of the primary rafters A, secondary rafters G, carrying the roof, and beveling wedges G, substantially as described, and for the purpose set forth.

In testimony whereof I affix my signatn re in presence of two witnesses.

ARNOLD NICOLAUS hifliilitl DHLFIS.

IVitnesses:

THOMAS H. COLDWELL, Jas. W. HART. 

